


Cold Cuddles and Canoodling

by DanaScully77



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Mushy, Not quite platonic cuddling, Silly, Smutty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:54:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28387347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanaScully77/pseuds/DanaScully77
Summary: Originally posted to Tumblr as a secret Santa gift. It’s a bit silly, a bit smutty, and a bit mushy. Takes place during the Quagmire episode."A quiet yawn slips from her lips and she feels her eyes fluttering shut. Outside of their motel, the beginnings of daylight is making its presence known to the world, but neither of them notice. The thick blinds are drawn shut and Scully feels the efforts of staying up all night to fight a giant alligator catching up to her."
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 7
Kudos: 67





	Cold Cuddles and Canoodling

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for @frettingoverthis for the @thexfilesnet Christmas event on Tumblr. As requested, I wrote a MSR fanfic based on the early years. It’s a bit silly, a bit smutty, and a bit mushy. 
> 
> I intend to write another chapter with more of the smutty parts soon. :)

By the time they get back to the motel, Scully is absolutely freezing. She had blasted the heat in the car, but the cold air has settled into her bones and her body is visibly shivering as she heads to her motel door.

“Shit.” She curses under her breath as she drops her keys, her hand too shaky to navigate the key into the lock.

“I got it.” Mulder is behind her almost instantly, grabbing her keys from the door and nudging her out of the way with his hip.

A blush settles across her cold cheeks and she feels a tingle of warmth for the first time in hours. Spending a night on a rock in the middle of frigid water after abandoning a sinking boat was not what she expected from this investigation, but then again, none of Mulder’s cases ever are to be expected.

“Thanks.” She mumbles as Mulder swings her door open for her. A pout settles over her features when she spots Queequeg’s food and bowl near the frame of the door.

“I am sorry about your dog.” He looks almost bashful apologizing.

“It’s not your fault. I dropped his leash.” She admits, holding out her hand for her motel keys.

Mulder nods and hands them back to her as a harsh shiver races up her spine. He knows better than to address what Scully would consider a weakness and instead asks her about food. When she confirms he nods and takes a step toward his door. “I’ll order pizza.”

“I’ll be over after I shower.” Scully smiles, shutting her door to see a small grin on Mulder’s lips.

The past year has been a year of growth for her and Mulder and she lets a smile of her own grace her features as she strips her wet clothes off of her body.

She makes quick work of ringing out her wet clothing and hanging them over the edge of the tub so that they can dry, and eagerly steps into the heated shower. A sigh escapes her lips as the water warms her skin, easing some of the tension in her shoulders from sitting hunched over most of the night to conserve body heat.

When she finishes her shower, she pulls on a silky pajama set and wraps a heavy robe overtop before quickly drying her hair. It’s a bit wild and unruly, but she has become comfortable enough with Mulder to not fret too much about it.

Once finished, Scully steps outside, shutting her motel door to walk down the sidewalk to Mulder’s room. This is one of the rare motels that doesn’t have adjoining doors, a recent staple in their travels. She knocks once and hears him call “it’s open,” before stepping inside.

“Perfect timing. The pizza just got here.” Mulder smiles and waves his hand to the pizza box on the small table in the room. He is already eating a slice, sitting along the left side of the bed. She realizes he must have also showered because his hair is slightly damp and he is no longer smells like swamp water. Her eyes try not to linger on his t-shirt and sweatpants clad body as she toes off her shoes.

After grabbing her own slice, she sits in the loveseat adjacent to his bed. His room is slightly cooler than hers and another small shiver tingles through her body.

“Still cold?”

“Hmm?” She asks around a mouthful of food, unaware that Mulder had been studying her for the past few minutes. “A bit. The shower helped, but I can’t seem to shake the chill.”

“Come here.” Mulder pulls the covers aside and pats the spot next to him. An eyebrow arches on her face, eliciting a chuckle from Mulder. “Don’t worry, _agent Scully._ I promise to stay on top of the covers.”

The grin he shoots her way ensures he will be respectful and Scully gives him an eyeroll even as she stands, bringing her pizza with her, and sliding into the bed beside him. She allows him to push the covers over her lap and tries to ignore the spark of liquid heat that shoots up her leg from where his hand brushes her thigh over the covers.

Mulder turns the television on to a random lifetime movie and for the next few minutes they eat in content silence. He abandons his position on the bed to grab another slice before returning to his place over the covers.

Scully can feel the heat emitting from his body and tries to subtly slide closer to him. If he notices he doesn’t say anything, letting her brush their arms together.

Licking her fingers clean of any lingering grease, Scully shuffles lower in the bed, tugging the covers higher on her body. The rational part of her brain is telling her to leave his room, but warmth is finally starting to seep into her chilled frame and she can’t bring herself to move.

Instead, she remains tucked in the sheets and absentmindedly watches the program.

A quiet yawn slips from her lips and she feels her eyes fluttering shut. Outside of their motel, the beginnings of daylight is making its presence known to the world, but neither of them notice. The thick blinds are drawn shut and Scully feels the efforts of staying up all night to fight a giant alligator catching up to her.

Mulder watches her out of the corner of his eye.

He is shocked by how young she looks. He knows of course, that she is still in her twenties, but outside of her pantsuits her youth is impossible to ignore. She looks so tiny and small wrapped in her robe, her blow-dried hair curled around her cheeks.

Just as he is sure that she has dozed off, her sleepy voice startles him out of his admiration of her youth.

“Would you really eat me if you had to?”

Mulder’s cheeks flush as his mind takes a dirty route involuntarily and he is grateful her eyes are still closed. He knows she would have given him hell if she had noticed the innuendo shining behind his eyes.

“Well, it’s just like you said. Survival instincts and all that.”

He turns just in time to see her bottom lip pucker out in a pout. The lack of sleep is making it hard for her to maintain her aura of professionalism and her true reactions are flashing like a neon sign across her face. Mulder relishes in the chance to see casual Scully.

Her eyes flutter open sensing his attention and she trains her sleepy vision on him. “I would have attempted fishing before I ate you.”

Mulder watches with giddy mirth as a cheeky grin takes up the expanse of Scully’s face and she tucks her chin down to her neck in amusement.

“God you’re cute.” The comment slips from Mulder’s lips before he can stop himself and he immediately realizes it is the wrong thing to say. Her smile disappears and she pushes herself to sit straighter against the headboard.

“I should go back to my room.”

Mulder watches as she moves the cover off of her lap and immediately tries to back-track. “Scully, wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Mulder, it’s late.” She checks the clock next to his bed. “Or really early. I should get some sleep before we have to check out.”

“Wait.” Mulder says again and leans over her lap to grab her hip, keeping her from sliding out of the bed. “Stay. The bed is already warm and you just stopped shivering.”

Scully’s hesitant, arched eyebrow tells Mulder everything he needs to know. He smiles and leans back to his place on the bed, holding his hands up next to his chest in a mock surrender pose.

“I’ll be a gentleman. Scout’s honor.” He senses she is still uncertain and drops his hands to his lap in a moment of honesty. “I don’t plan on sleeping until we are back home. I’m too riled up.”

“Still thinking of Big Blue?” Scully smirks, the first sign that her resolve is slipping.

“Maybe.” He grins back at her.

Despite her better judgement, Scully slides back under the covers. “I’ll stay. But only because it is warm here.” She ends her statement with a firm nod of her head as if solidifying her justification. Which she’s justifying by attributing them to lack of sleep.

“Of course.” Mulder says and hides his smirk by biting his bottom lip.

Scully takes a moment to situate herself under the covers and cradles her head on one of the pillows, facing away from Mulder. “Do you have an alarm set?”

“Yes, Dana.” Mulder teases.

Scully rolls her eyes, but doesn’t reply.

In truth, she has no idea why she is staying in his room. It goes against FBI protocols and is dangerous territory for self-control. Scully ran from a risky relationship, having joined the FBI to halt the irrational decision making in her personal love life.

Yet, staying in his motel room, in his bed, is only proving that she hasn’t run far enough. Mulder’s cheeky spooky charm ignites hot desire within her and she longs for her reckless college self to take over and jump his bones.

Instead, she huddles deeper under the covers and wills her body to go to sleep. She will just have to settle for being close to him.

By focusing on his body heat warming her backside, Scully feels the exhaustion of the night weighing her down and within a few more minutes she is fast asleep.

To Mulder’s credit he does keep his hands off of her but as the credits roll on the lifetime movie, Mulder tucks his legs under the covers feeling a shiver in his body. He doesn’t mean to fall asleep, but a thirty minutes later he is in dreamland.

The sound of the alarm wakes Mulder and he quickly reaches over to switch it off. He feels stiff, having fallen asleep upright against the headboard, and as he moves his hands over his lap to push the covers back he lets out a soft gasp.

The warmth in his lap is not from the blankets, but rather is emitting from the redhead fast asleep on his thighs.

In her sleep, Scully had rolled over and wrapped her body around his. Her head is perched on his lap, her arms encircling his waist, and her legs are tucked around his own. A small piece of her hair is blowing up and down with her breath as it dangles in her face and Mulder gently flicks it behind her ear.

He sends a silent prayer up to Scully’s god that she is facing away from his lap, his morning wood hard and rigid behind the back of her head and he knows he needs to extract her without waking her to save himself from embarrassment.

Mulder gently presses his hands against her arms, intending to pry her from his body, but the action causes Scully to stir in her sleep and bury herself further into his lap. Her head nuzzles against his cock and Mulder has to bite his lip to keep from grunting.

Attempting to push her off once more, she reacts the same way and her arms tighten around his waist.

“Shit.” Mulder curses under his breath and sinks back against the headboard. If he knew Scully wouldn’t be equally as embarrassed to find herself in this predicament, Mulder would find their current situation amusing and possibly adorable.

Staring down at the redhead, Mulder feels his cock jump against her skull and clenches his fists.

_“Now is not the time.”_ Mulder chastises himself. He’ll think about this later tonight when he is alone with his hand down his boxers. Right now, he needs to get her off of him.

Mulder carefully pushes the blankets off of their bodies, exposing just how intwined around him she truly is. Her shorter legs are tucked up and between his own, her knee possessively placed across his thighs.

“Scully.” Mulder whispers, gently shaking her shoulder. “I need you to roll over.”

“Mmmm five more minutes.” Her sleepy form answers, nuzzling closer. It is clear she isn’t quite conscious yet, trapped between reality and dreamland.

“You can keep sleeping. I just need to stand up.” He tries again.

“Warm.” She grumbles.

“I’ll tuck you back in, just roll over.” Mulder’s attempt to reason with a half-asleep Scully fails miserably as her half-conscious mind processes the words. She does roll over, but not how he intended her to.

Instead, she flips herself the other direction and presses her face against the length of his erection covered by his sweatpants.

The movement makes Mulder freeze in surprise and he stares down at her with wide eyes. He is afraid to move, worried that she’ll wake up to realize just how close her lips are to his cock.

His hands hover in the air over her body and he rolls his eyes. _“So much for god answering people’s prayers.”_

“Scully, roll onto your back.” His attempt falls on deaf ears, Scully having already fallen back to sleep. Her mouth is open slightly and Mulder watches as a small trail of drool drops onto his sweatpants.

He has to throw his head back and shut his eyes for a moment to keep the visual of Scully coating his cock with her spit from his mind.

Glancing back down to his lap, Mulder assesses the situation once more. He thinks that if he can quickly throw her towards the center of the bed that she’ll be shocked enough to be able to slip out before she becomes fully aware of her surroundings. Then he’ll just throw a “good morning” in her direction and act like he has no idea why she was startled awake.

She might ask questions later, but it will give Mulder enough time to disappear into the bathroom and adjust his cock to save them from embarrassment.

He nods to himself to affirm his plan and on an intake of breath, Mulder puts his plan into action.

It almost works.

He manages to throw her toward the center of the bed with a quick thrust of his hips, but what Mulder didn’t account for was Scully’s reflexes. As her body is whipped over to the side, her arms lock tighter around his waist as her body thinks it is being thrown over a ledge.

She awakens with a gasp and as Mulder tries to extract himself from her grasp, he feels himself being tugged forward. The action lands him half over top of her body with his cock directly in front of her face. His hand braces behind her head on the bed to keep from pressing himself into her and he holds perfectly still.

It takes her a second to realize her predicament, but once she does she gasps loudly and pushes herself away from him, extracting her body from underneath his body.

“Mulder?” She questions after there is a safe distance between them on the bed and they are both sitting up, facing the other.

“I wasn’t trying… you were on my lap… I just wanted to stand up.” He fumbles, face turning a light shade of red.

“Are you blushing?” Scully grins at him. It’s one of the first times she has seen him flustered and it surprises her.

Mulder opens and closes his mouth twice, her sudden shift in questioning taking him off guard. “You’re not mad?” He ventures a question back to her.

“As curious as I am about how exactly we ended up like that and how you got under the covers…” she trails off with an eyebrow arch in his direction, “… I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?” He asks again, skeptical about her reaction.

“Mulder, I trust you. I know you weren’t trying to do anything to me.”

His eyes go wide. He hadn’t even considered their position as being anything more than embarrassing, but it’s true. She could have thought he was sexually assaulting her and the idea of that makes him want to puke.

“I would never.” His tone is stern and apologetic.

“I know.” She smiles and reaches across the bed to place her hand on his arm.

Mulder nods and looks down at her hand on his arm before they both glance down to his lap. His erection is clearly visible, tenting his gray sweatpants.

“I…” Mulder starts, reaching down to adjust himself over the top of his pants. As he does he accidently makes eye contact with her and his sentence cuts off in his throat.

“It’s okay.” Her voice sounds raspy to her own ears and she clears her throat to gain some dominance over the situation. “It’s a natural reaction. Many men experience morning erections due to…”  
  
“Scully, please stop talking.” He cuts her off.

“Right. Sorry.” She stammers and stands off the bed. “I should go change and collect my things. I’ll meet you at the car.”

Without further communication, she bolts from the room and Mulder sighs. His hand flies down his boxers and he flops across the bed, grunting as his hand makes quick work up and down his shaft.

“I forgot my… shoes.” Scully stops, mid-step in his doorway her voice squeaking on the last word.

“Jesus, Scully!” Mulder groans and jumps off the bed, his hand shooting out of his sweatpants, snapping his boxers against his hips.

“Sorry… I… I didn’t think…” She stutters and Mulder groans again. “Right, right. Going.” Grabbing her shoes, she darts from the door again, slamming it on its hinges.

“Fuck.” Mulder groans and runs the hand that wasn’t down his pants across his face.

The car ride back home is tense and awkward. Neither of them address the elephant in the car and Scully is pretty sure this is the sole reason that article 314 of the FBI handbook forbids agents fraternizing in motel rooms. Nothing good comes out of it.

As Mulder pulls up outside of her house she feels the tension thick in the air. She doesn’t want to leave things like this between them, but isn’t sure how to broach the topic.

“I’m sorry I put us in this predicament.” Mulder’s voice startles Scully out of her internal query.

“What?”

“I shouldn’t have insisted you stay in my room.” The sincerity in his voice unnerves Scully. She is pretty sure she hasn’t heard this tone from him since their very first case together when he told her about Samantha.

“Why did you want me to stay?” Scully makes sure to lower her tone as well, as if afraid of scaring a small kitten away.

“It was just nice to not be alone for once.”

The answer comes so quickly and quietly that Scully thinks she imaged it at first. But a glance at his face tells her she hasn’t misheard. Mulder is looking at the steering wheel, a nervous expression across his features.

Scully wonders, not for the first time, what exactly happened in Mulder’s past relationships to make him so hesitate about emotional conversations.

Needing to comfort him, she reaches across the car to place her hand on his thigh. The touch makes him turn toward her with a reserved expression on his face. “It’s okay.”

“You don’t have to say that. I know I crossed a line today.” Mulder responses, not believing her.

“Mulder, we both did. It’s not like I exactly put up a fight when you suggested to stay in your room.”

A look of realization settles on his features. “Why did you stay?”

It’s Scully’s time to blush softly and she tries to retract her hand from his thigh, but his larger one suddenly drops from the steering wheel to hold it in place. The action traps her hand and her eyes lock with his.

“It was nice to not be alone.” She echoes his reasoning.

They both smile gently at the other before Mulder brings her hand up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of it. Scully flushes a darker red and is grateful for the darkness of the vehicle.

“See you Monday?” Mulder husks, finally letting her have her hand back.

“Monday.” Scully confirms and opens the car door. She slides out and shuts the door before walking around the front to head into her apartment.

Two steps away from the vehicle she turns around and waits until Mulder rolls his window down.

“Everything okay?” He asks when she doesn’t say anything.

“Do you want to come up? I think there is beer in my fridge.”

She doesn’t even need to hold the breath she inhales because Mulder answers almost instantly. “Chinese tonight?”

“I’ll order it once we get upstairs.”

Mulder rolls the window up, turns the car off, and follows Scully into her apartment building. Neither is sure what the night entails, but one thing is certain: they will not be alone tonight.


End file.
